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Stone's War
"Stone's War" is the second episode of Miami Vice's third season. The episode premiered on October 3, 1986 and features the debut of the Ferrari Testarossa. Summary Crockett's friend Ira Stone returns with video proof that their old adversary Maynard is running a paramilitary operation in Nicaragua. Plot In Nicaragua, Crockett's old friend Ira Stone (Bob Balaban) is filming what appears to be an attack on a village by rebel fighters. A priest and several civilians are shot down, including Stone's cameraman. Stone escapes and flies to Miami, where Crockett is waiting. Stone has a bag of tapes confiscated by Customs agents and he leaves the airport, with two suited men following him. Crockett takes Stone to his replacement car, a Chevy truck, and Stone shows him a tape of American fighters in Nicaragua. They go to the St. Vitus Dance and Stone shows him the footage through his camera. Crockett doesn't believe the footage is legit, that it was a set up. Stone says it's real and he wants to sell it to a local Miami station, and for Crockett to protect him from those who don't want the footage to see the light of day. Crockett agrees to allow him to stay on the boat one night. Stone is calling around trying to sell his tape while Crockett goes to see Castillo about his cover car, Castillo tells him "it's out back" and Crockett now has a Ferrari Testarossa. Stone gets a call from a Rolondo Lujan at a local station wanting to buy his tape, but it's actually from the same two guys who were after Stone in the airport, and when Stone arrives at the station, they start shooting at him, but he escapes on the back of a news truck. He makes it back to Crockett's boat, and after he tells Crockett what happened, Crockett wants him off his boat, and wants nothing to do with Stone's problems. At OCB, Trudy reads off a teletype that Stone has an arrest warrant for murder in relation to his cameraman dying and that he & Stone were running a drug smuggling operation. Crockett goes back to his boat and finds one of the two men coming out of the cabin. Crockett holds him at gunpoint until the man's partner comes up behind Crockett and turns the lights out. Crockett comes to with his phone ringing, Stone says he has a buyer for his tape, but a phone tap clicked on Crockett's phone, is in the airport, but there are two different men watching him and he is afraid to leave. Crockett pulls up at the airport, flashes his lights, picks up Stone and heads out, with the two guys in pursuit. They start shooting at Crockett until Crockett leads them under a tractor-trailer, the Testarossa makes it, the Chrysler does not, and it shears their top off. Crockett demands the truth from Stone, and lets him know about the arrest warrant for him, Stone claims he wasn't involved in the killing or moving drugs. Crockett takes him to OCB, then goes to meet the reporter, Alicia Mena (Lonette McKee), and he turns the tape over to Alicia, but she won't air it until she checks it out. Meanwhile, a meeting of heads of various companies (and Federal Judge Zarvo) is going on, being led by Crockett's old enemy Maynard (G. Gordon Liddy), who are financing a private army to join the Contras in the Nicaraguan Civil War against the Sandinstas. Eaton Salvador, one of the investors, seeks proof of their million-dollar investment in the army, as to its' effectiveness. Maynard shows him a collection of Sandinsta ears, and said there will be more to come. Crockett goes to OCB, Stone has been removed from Metro lockup because Switek OK'd his transfer due to the presentation of a federal warrant by an Officer O'Hara. Switek called and found there is no Officer O'Hara working with the Feds. Crockett gets a call from Maynard who is holding Stone, and wants to exchange his tape for Stone. Crockett & Tubbs go to see Alicia, she has checked Washington and found no covert operations in Nicaragua going on, but Crockett recognized one of the soldiers on the tape, he was the one on his boat earlier. Alicia wants to put the tape on the air, Crockett wants her to make a copy and give him the original. Alicia refuses, then Crockett storms out, but finally Tubbs convinces her to give a copy to Crockett. Crockett meets Maynard in a parking building, sees Stone is OK, gives Maynard the tape, but Maynard has a tape analyzer indicating it's a copy, and tells Crockett to give him the original or Stone dies. Meanwhile, Alicia is watching the tape when the guy on the tape (Officer O'Hara) shows up at her office, kills Alicia, then takes a magnetic device to erase the tape. Crockett & Tubbs visit the scene, they find a transmittal from Managua showing the priest killed was from Ohio, named Father Joseph Mattingly, possibly an American missionary. Crockett calls Switek who tells him the judge that signed Stone's warrant was Judge Zarvo (who is working for Maynard). Crockett & Tubbs go see Judge Zarvo, who tell him the warrant was false, and Stone was kidnapped. Crockett threatens a Homicide investigation if Stone is killed by Maynard, including Zarvo. Zarvo doesn't know where they are holding Stone, but gave a number for emergencies. They track the number to Hialeah, but the house where the number is located is empty, except for an answering machine where Maynard can check his messages from anywhere, and fresh blood on the floor. Tubbs finds where Maynard went, to an airstrip in the Everglades, where his private army is boarding a plane for Managua. Stone is being held by O'Hara, who tortures him by shooting his legs, but he doesn't reveral any information. Crockett & Tubbs force Maynard to drive them to where Stone is, but Maynard opens his mike so the men there are warned. Crockett & Tubbs take Maynard & O'Hara inside the building where Stone is being held, then another soldier busts in, Crockett & Tubbs kill him & O'Hara, and Maynard escapes on the plane to Managua with the private soldier force. Stone was hit in the final exchange and dies, but not before Crockett tells him his story will be on the evening news. Back on his boat, Crockett heard on the news that Father Mattingly had been killed by Sandinistas, NOT Maynard's private force. "Ripped From The Headlines" In this episode, the ongoing Contra rebellion against the Sandinistas was paralleled here, as a private group of "freedom fighters" are sent to help the rebels because Congress forbade direct aid to the Contras in 1985, leading to the Iran-Contra scandal. Notes * The closing shot of the opening sequence where the woman was carrying her child is reminiscent of similar photographs from the Vietnam War where children were being carried from napalm strikes. * G. Gordon Liddy's "Maynard" character was an effective adversary for Crockett, as he is able to out-think Crockett, and he is one of the few Crockett enemies not to be killed. Music *"Mercy" by Steve Jones (Opening sequence with gun battle and at airstrip where Maynard's troops board the plane to Nicaragua) *"When The Rain Comes Down" by Andy Taylor (Crockett & Stone being chased) *"Red Rain" by Peter Gabriel (Alicia encounters O'Hara) *"Lives in the Balance" by Jackson Browne (End sequence where Maynard escapes and Stone dies) Quotes *"Elvis eats fish, feet, if he's hungry enough!" -- Crockett to Stone *"Lieutenant, I know that there are certain procedures that have to be followed, and that what we're dealing with here is an entrenched bureaucracy, but it has been one month, one month since the Daytona bit the dust...what I'm trying to do is maintain a departmentally-approved cover here, and if I continue to show up for six-figure drug deals looking like Lil' Abner, it ain't gonna cut it!" -- Crockett to Castillo before Castillo gets him the Testarossa *"340 horsepower, 180 miles per hour, new paint, new rubber... YEAH!!! -- Crockett after he gets the Testarossa *"Ears, Sandnista Ears!" -- Maynard to Salvador when Salvador questioned the army's effectiveness Category:Miami Vice Season 3 Episodes